It's Me, Ellie
by LadySirAslan
Summary: Ellie is taking care of Joel after his nearly fatal injury, and when he finally shows signs of consciousness, it's not what she expects.


Her boots disturb the snow under her as she dismounts Callus with a slight grunt. Looking around, she reaches for the reins and leads him along the snow covered street. The neighborhood was eerily quiet as usual, except for the low harsh bursts of wind whistling through the abandoned houses. Ellie turns onto an inclined driveway and helps the horse make its way to the top, where she opened the garage door before pulling it inside. Quickly and cautiously, she makes a sweep of the area before jumping and grabbing the bottom of the garage door. Guiding it down, Ellie remembers his advice, and very gently let's it fall when it's a few inches off the floor to keep it from making too much noise.

Turning around, she checks on Callus and gives him a heavy pat and breathy praise. "Good boy, Callus." She unties the rabbit she's managed to successfully hunt, a small satchel filled with scavenged items, and enters the house.

The darkening sky only made the rest of the abode more unsettling. There were cobwebs in the darkest corners of the living room, streams of light from the setting sun bursting through gaps of the boarded up windows, layers of dust covering the cracked furniture, and torn couches and curtains. Walking towards the back of the house, she passes the kitchen, already raided and empty. She passed the bedrooms which were still furnished as if the previous tenants had just disappeared amidst their normal routine, save for some missing bedsheets.

She continued along the corridor until she reached a door at the end, opened it, and proceeded down compact steps leading to a small but spacious basement. There were some shelves along the concrete walls lined with boxes, most of them empty, and other useless items such as cleaning supplies with deteriorated labels. There was a beaten up washing machine and a rusty sink too. The only source of light at the moment was a small window high on the wall opposite of the door. Ellie hurried to the bundle of bags and boxes located under said window. She struggled in the growing darkness but finally managed to locate an old candle she had found in one of the bedrooms, and carefully, knowing she didn't have a lot of matches, lit it.

She set it next to a large mass laying in the center of the room. With the candles aid, she could see that Joel was still too pale and his breathing was coming out in quick, visible breathes. He was obviously shivering from the cold, but Ellie had rummaged most of the houses around the neighborhood and could only find a slightly worn mattress and a few sheets that weren't too last thing she wanted was to make his injury worse. She rubbed her hands together to make them less cold, then felt his forehead. He still had a fever, and she couldn't tell whether it had gotten better or worse. Pulling back the thick blanket, she saw his shirt covered in dry blood. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then she tugged up his shirt to reveal her amateur needle work. The flesh around the stitching was still purple and red, probably very tender, so she didn't dare touch it. She grimaced at the wound and quickly covered Joel up again when she noticed his shivering getting worse.

Ellie sat back, pulled her knees up, and buried her face in her arms. She inhaled, hoping to find the scent of Joel on his jacket for comfort. It had been only two days since they arrived, and he hadn't spoken or shown any signs of consciousness except for the puffs of smoke from his breathing. She kept reminding herself that she wasn't completely alone, not really. Joel was still there and breathing, so there was no need to panic or be afraid. She took the time to praise herself for her quick work and thorough looting. She smiled a bit knowing Joel would have been proud of her, for trying at least. He was alive. She was not alone.

The sheets rustled in front of her and she looked up. Joel was stirring, though his eyes were still shut. She could only stare at his face, hoping for him to finally look back as well. But he finally calmed down and had settled back in his nearly unconscious state. Ellie exhaled and turned to pull her backpack towards her. She laid down next to the mattress using her bag as a makeshift pillow. Joel had begun to shake again accompanied by harsh bursts of breathe. She knew there was nothing else to do until she found medicine, which she hadn't despite her thorough scavenging. _Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll check the last couple of houses down the street, and I _will _find medicine for you, Joel. _She placed her hand on his chest, feeling him shudder and pant, and closed her eyes, knowing it would be a long restless night.

"-ah..."

Ellie's eyes shot open, but she couldn't move. _Holy shit..._

"S- Sarah..."

She stared at him with wide eyes. He was _talking._ Ellie lifted her head to look at his face, but was only met with shut eyes.

"Sar-...Sarah..."

_Oh shit. _Ellie was at a loss. He kept calling for his daughter, his _dead _daughter, and for the first time, Ellie wished she _was _here. _Poor Joel..._

She patted his chest lightly hoping to calm him, but instead she noticed movement under the blanket, and after a while, his arm appeared pushing back the covering. Ellie pulled her hand away quickly, still too shocked to properly respond. This was the most he had moved since they got there. He arm was stiff but his hands were searching for something, his fingers weakly feeling the material of his shirt and now folded blanket.

"Baby girl?" he murmured again.

And something in Ellie snapped. She reached out for his wandering hand and took it. His fingers were freezing but provided a familiar and comforting warmth to hers.

"Hey Sarah..."

His voice was low and faint, almost like a whisper. Before she could stop herself, Ellie sat up and moved closer to him. She stared at his face, waiting for some kind of miracle in which he opened his eyes and gave her one of his rare smiles. But when no miracle came, she only whispered, "Hey...Dad."

He moved his hand in a feeble attempt to squeeze hers. Noticing the reaction, Ellie looked back at him and quietly asked, "How you feeling?". She expected an audible response but Joel only murmured and sighed. She squeezed his hand hoping for a different reaction, but he only tried to squeeze back.

After a few more attempts to talk to him, Ellie had given up. It seemed as if he had run out of energy to talk coherently. The moonlight coming in from the window was cast upon his face, and after a few minutes of silence, she decided it was time to get sleep. She had just released his hand when he started muttering again.

"Sarah?"

Ellie must have been tired out of her mind, disheartened from the lack of response she got out of him, or both, but something in her flared.

"It's not Sarah, it's me, Ellie."

"Sarah..."

She raised her voice a little more, "No, Ellie."

"Sa-"

"No! Ell-ie, Ellie! I'm the one who fixed you up, I'm the one who's taking care of you, it's Ellie who's been with you this whole time, ok? Ellie!" There were tears in her eyes now as her voice cracked.

Joel was muttering unintelligible nothings the entire time. _I give up..._ she wipes her eyes and then grabs Joel's hand to move it back under the blanket.

"...love you, baby girl."

Ellie froze for a moment before realization hit. He was talking about Sarah. She squeezed her eyes shut, sniffed, and continued to move his arm back in its original place.

"...I love you too, Dad." _Get fucking better already, Joel._


End file.
